Dante's Ballad
by Prince Conjure
Summary: Who says a trained assassin can't be nice? Dante shows this as he runs away from his home and to Equestria, specifically Canterlot, the royal city full of organized crime. Instead of joining forces in causing this problem, he joins the Division Against Organized Crime, and finds his place. The only problem is his past isn't so quick to let him go. T for violence and swearing.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

One slice. One kill.

My blade clicked as it entered it's sheathe. I kneeled back down and waited again. I quickly grabbed my katana, Kusanagi, and sliced forwards. The sword wasn't aimed at anyone, but had it been, they would be cut in half.

I quickly sheathed Kusanagi again. The door behind me opened causing me to put my hand on my ninjato sword, Nocturne. A hand stopped me from fully unsheathing it. "Calm down. It's only me."

The voice calmed me enough to sheathe my sword. I turned my body and looked at my sister. She was wearing a uniform as well. Clad in a long, black jumpsuit and corresponding sneakers, she addressed me. "What is it?"

"Mother and Father want you." She kneeled down next to me. "Probably for a mission."

I ascended from my place on the floor, turned and went into the kitchen, my parents standing in the middle. I slowly knelt like I did in the training room and looked down. "You summoned me?"

Without a word, a paper was put in front of me. I picked up the paper and left the room. I went into the bathroom and took a shower, changing into different clothes. I slipped into a long sleeve blue shirt, and a pair of black jeans. Along with that, I put on a pair of boots and strapped my swords to my body, Kusanagi on my left side and Nocturne vertical to my back. I looked in the mirror, looking over my appearance. Brown eyes and dark hair coupled with my tannish skin.

I left the bathroom and the house. After I closed the door, I jumped to the top of the roof. My legs, very powerful, helped me travel roof to roof until I reached my destination, Big Ben. I jumped up to the top of a roof and started to scale the giant clock. Finally reaching the top, I closed my eyes. Upon opening them, The city was mapped out in sonar blue.

My eyes scaled the entire city of London, no one could hide from me. I quickly found my target, at the very edge of the Everfree forest. I closed my eyes again, this time when I opened, them, my vision turning normal.

I jumped off of big ben and landed in a street, causing it to collapse under the force of the impact. I quickly recovered and started to run towards the Everfree Forest.

Having excessively strong arms and legs and eyes with sonar wasn't exactly superhuman now. Maybe 20 years ago. The year was 2036 and I was 16. The world was getting upgraded in technology every year. My legs and arms both had cybernetic enhancements when I was born and my eyes were swapped out for ones with built in ultrasonic sensors. I also happen to be part of the Caesar Legion, my name being Dante Caesar. A long line of assassins originally formed by Julius himself.

I reached the edge of the forest in a few minutes. Once I reached it, I activated my sonar again. This time, I detected three different people. I returned my eyes to normal and continued on to trek through the forest. As I got closer to my target, I could start to hear voices.

"So what's it gonna be, hm?" said a mans voice. I scanned again to find out he was my target. I hid behind a large tree and pulled out my paper. Slowly inching out of cover, I compared the picture with the actual person.

"A perfect match." I said to myself. I jumped into a tree and choose the best route of attack.

"We don't know who you are. We're just here for a flower." A female voice. Around my age, based on the voice. "We don't want any trouble."

"Oh, but I do, my dear. You see, I hear that one of you is a princess. A princess gets held for ransom. Ransom means a paycheck." I finally found a place above the scene to look on from. A middle-aged man with a black suit and a gun in his pants stood across from two girls. One had long black hair, gray eyes and was short, about 5'2. The other was taller, about 5'5, had a dark blue color of hair, and blue eyes. Her clothes also seemed to circle around the color dark blue.

"It's okay, Rose."said the taller one, pushing her companion back. "I'll deal with this." With that, she pushed her hand out, a sword constructed itself in front of her hand. A rapier, a golden hilt and a 3 foot blade, popped up. She grabbed it and held it forward and towards the man.

"Ah, I see. So, you're the princess." With that, he teleported behind the shorter woman and brought his hand down on her neck hard enough to knock her out. She fell to the ground, knocked out cold. "Let's have ourselves a little talk, shall we?"

The remaining girl pivoted on her left foot and faced the man, who in turn pulled out his gun. "What? Too scared to face me fairly?"

"No. It's just easier for everyone this way." He moved close and took her rapier which shattered into light blue squares as soon as he did. "Follow me. My boss wants to meet you." He took her hands and pulled them behind her back. Using his other hand, he lifted the other girl into the air and took off into the forest. I followed suit, eager to know what exactly I was in for.

After about 3 minutes of tailing, they broke out of the Everfree and into another place. This space was a bit larger than the last opening and was occupied by three other people, all wearing cliché robes.

"Okay. Let's get this over with quick." Said my target pushing the girl forward and dropped the other on the ground. "Here is your princess. Where's my share?"

"First, we must confirm so." The voice didn't have the accent of a brit so I assumed they weren't. They slowly moved towards her. The inside of their hoods illuminated different colors that seemed to make the princess become uncomfortable. As soon as this happened the lights stopped. "I see. You are the daughter of Princess Luna, are you not?"

"Okay you've got your princess. Where is my money?" I moved around silently to a tree right above my target. "I don't mean to offend you but you kinda freak me out."

"We have your share." Suddenly, a flash of blue light brought forth a bag full of pounds. The man jumped up and grabbed the bag in his hand and started to count the money. Satisfied, he turned around.

I jumped down onto his shoulders, bent down, and wrapped my hands around his neck. Without giving anyone a chance to react, I snapped his neck and dropped him on the floor. Turning around, the three seemed to be confused. I put my hands up in defense. "I am not here for you guys. I was ordered to kill him."

"Are you an assassin?" Said the princess. "If you are, could I hire you?"

"Hire me? I don't know. I usually get my contracts from my parents-"

"It's a matter of life or death." The people in robes were starting to catch on and started to glow again. This time, the princess was put in binds weighed down by a large iron ball. She struggled to leave but couldn't. "I'd like it if you'd make your decision just a bit faster."

"Okay fine. I expect a lot of money for saving a princess." I unsheathed Nocturne, it's black steel blade shining in the daylight, and sliced the chains off. "What else do you need me to do?"

"Nothing. I can deal with these guys." The same rapier from earlier constructed itself in her hand. She grabbed it, this time not giving the three time to react. Slicing off their robes revealed three people, two men and a woman. Suddenly 3 stockades formed around them, blocking them from princess' sword disappeared again and she turned to me. "Thanks."

I cleared my throat. "I believe that this wasn't exactly a free service."

"Oh, of course." She motioned towards the bag of coins the an I killed dropped. "I suppose you could take those as your payment."

"Oh no. I could bring myself to steal. Even if it's from a dead man." I crossed my arms. "Besides, you should pay your own debts."

"But I don't-" I quickly swiped Nocturne past her face and up to it's sheathe. As soon as I sheathed it, her hair was cut just a bit shorter.

"That's better." I said putting my hand under my chin. "You look better this way."

"My hair." she touched it carefully. "Why did you cut it?"

"I told you. It looks good." I stretched out my hand "The name's Dante."

"Cosmic. Cosmic Swift." She took my hand and shook it. "I don't know what to do?"

"Well first," I looked at her companion on the ground to the criminals. "We have a few things to deal with first."

"I guess you're right." She grabbed my shoulder. "Hold on. I've heard the first time is a bit rough." Suddenly, a blue light flashed in front of my face, almost blinding me. My muscles contracted and released rapidly making them pain. Finally, my muscles releasing, I was thrown into a different place.

We were somewhere on a mountain, a city. I turned around and saw Cosmic brushing herself off, completely unharmed. "So. Where are we?"

"In Canterlot, Capital of Equestria." She looked behind me. "Looks like you're up, Rose."

"Um, yeah. The teleportation knocked me awake." I turned to view her in better. Shorter than Cosmic, her long black hair was coupled with a short bang covering her left eye. The one eye I did see was grey. "Is it just me or is your hair shorter?"

"Yeah. It is." She turned to me. "This is Dante."

"Oh. Hello. My name is Rose." She stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." I said shaking her hand. I turned to Cosmic. "What are we going to do with these guys?"

"I'll give them over to my mom. She'll give them their punishment." The criminals seemed to shake at that sentence.

"Who is your mom, anyway?" I asked looking back up at the castle. "Must be pretty rich to own a castle like this."

"My mother is Princess Luna. She's the one who makes the moon rise and fall everyday."

I shook my head. "I don't even know what to say to that. Anyways, we have to get moving before your magic depletes. Or is that not how it works?"

"You're right. That teleport drained me of energy. Let's go." We started up the stairs to the front of the castle. Once we reached, we were stopped by two guards.

"Name and Business." Said the one on the right, a sheathed sword and gun on opposite sides of his body.

"Passage for six. Cosmic Swift, Rose Thorn, Dante Caesar and three nameless criminals. We're here to seek an audience with Princess Luna."

The guard's hand illuminated a purple color that passed over all of us. He pulled it back towards him, looked at it, and stopped the glow. "You may enter, your cause is just."

We passed him, entering a huge castle. There were three huge halls off the bat, way larger than they appeared outside. Cosmic and Rose continued through as I marveled at the sight.

"Hey Dante, If I may, can I ask you a question?" Rose asked looking back at me as I looked around at all the statues and stained glasses. "Is this your first time in Equestria?"

"As far as I can tell, yes. This place is amazing though." I caught up with the rest of the group as they reached a set of huge double doors. They all stopped and looked up at the huge crest on it. "So what's the hold up?"

"This door only opens for those of the Royal Family and those consented by the Royal family." She put her hand on the door and tried to get it to budge. "For some reason though, it's not letting me in."

"Let me try." Said Rose putting her hand on the door. "You've given me consent right?"

"Yeah." She tried pushing the door but nothing happened. She stopped trying and backed up from the door. "Something might be blocking the door."

"If I could hit the door at a precise point where a lot of magical energy is stored, I might be able to meltdown the spell, in turn, unlocking the door."

"Or…" I reared my hand back. "Stand clear of the doors!" I shouted as I smashed my palm into the door. The doors went flying across the room and ended up somewhere in the middle. Dust collected from the door breaking free and it skidding across the floor. "I could smash it down."

"You idiot! What if someone got hurt!?"

"I did say to stand clear of the doors." I walked into the room and pushed the dust away from my face. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew away all the dust, revealing the room.

A person was sitting up in a throne at the end of this room. Another person seemed to be arguing with her. At the foot of the throne stood a woman dressed in vibrant purple, looking between the two with a look of annoyance on.

"I told you the door wouldn't hold." said the one snickering and in one of the throne chairs. She had white and light yellow on, wings and a horn. "Now you owe me a favor."

"That's not the point here Tia." this one had wings and a horn also but was dressed in dark blue clothes this time. Her hair and eyes were also blue.

I took one look at Cosmic and saw the resemblance. Suddenly, the person in purple stood up. "Are you two going to continue this? I thought you were supposed to get more tolerable and mature as you age. That's what my studies say at least."

"Hello!" I said drawing attention to myself,"G ow do ya do?"

"So you're the one who blew down the door then." said the person now arising from her chair. "You're the only one I have yet to give permission to." She looked over to the three prisoners in the blue bubble. "Well, give or take a few."

"Why did you lock the door?" I asked. "Something secret going on?"

"Yes actually. Something between only the three of us. I'm afraid you can't hear it." This came from the a woman standing next to the throne.

"Nonsense. You wouldn't tell your own daughter? It involves her as well you know." The woman sitting in the throne stood up. "Ms Swift, how would you like to attend a magic academy?"

She was silent for a few seconds. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean, would you like to go to a special magic school." She gestured towards the woman at the foot of the throne. 'Miss Twilight Sparkle will be your Principal and you may invite any of your friends talented enough."

"I believe it was I who was to inform her of _my _decision. I am her mother-"

"Not to be rude, but don't you think it's time you gave her a little judgement for herself?" The woman standing in front of the throne slowly walked down the stairs leading towards it. She finally approached Cosmic. She extended her hand. "Well, what do _you_ want to do?"  
She looked at her mother, then back at the woman in front of her. "I'll keep it under advisement." She turned and walked through the big hole in the wall, Rose following her. Seeing no other reason to be here, I also started to leave.

The heavy doors from before seemed to reconstruct itself, blocking my passage. "I assume there is a reason you want me to stay behind?" I asked, turning back towards the three women.

"Yes. I want to know who you are." This time it came from The one at the foot of the throne, Twilight Sparkle. "There's something off about you."

"I'm sorry to not have introduced myself. My name is Dante Caesar and I am an assassin."

Just as those words left my mouth, a blade was pinned to my neck. This blade was a ninjato, like mine, but her's was purple. "Tell me one good reason I shouldn't kill you now."

"Well, I'm not after anyone here. In fact, my target for the day is already dead."

"You could turn on us on any moment." She pushed the blade a little deeper into my flesh, this time drawing blood.

"That I could. It's your call ma'am." I made no attempt to attack or rebut this person. "She eventually removed her sword, having it shatter into a million small purple lights. "May I leave now?"

The doors opened and answered my question. I casually turned around and walked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The women immediately gave chase. They were fast but they lacked my maneuverability, as I could dodge in and out of crowds while they had to bump into others.

I made a mistake, though. Instead of running through crowds of multiple people, I ran towards a less crowded district. Looking behind me, I could see the two girls out of the crowds of people, and after me with a clear line of sight.

I turned the corner, again, making a terrible mistake. This time the street was vacant for everyone except for a few people, my pursuers, and I. I looked back but only saw one girl running after me this time, the one with the clipboard. I didn't know where the other one had gone and didn't have time to think about it before all the air in my lungs was ripped out and I came to a sudden stop.

I was stopped by a person, a man by the looks of it. I couldn't really tell with the lights flashing in front of my eyes. When I fell to the ground in agony, the lady behind me stopped and said a name that send a freezing fear down my spine.

"Justin Caesar," the name of my brother, the name of the life I was trying to run away from. all in just two words. What's more is that he'd stopped my escape. I had no idea where he came from or what his objective was, and that ignorance was definitely not bliss.

"I see I'm a name around here," he said nonchalantly. "Don't mind me. Just picking up my 'charming' little brother" He grabbed me by the neck and hauled me to my feet, then up into the air.

"Justin Caesar! I hereby place you under arrest for the murder of several political figures and disrupt of police investigation." this time, the one in a scarf drew her pistol and aimed at him. "I recommend you unhand the child immediately."

She didn't do me any favors, as Justin threw me behind him like a simple ragdoll. He cracked his knuckles and smiled at the two.

"So what do you have for me?" the one in front unraveled a long leather whip, cracking it a few times in an attempt of intimidation. The one with the scarf stood in a poised position and kept the barrel of the gun pointed at him.

He unsheathed his own pair of swords. Unlike mine, his were made by an actual blacksmith. Made for blocking bullets and swift kills. I made mine myself, after countless hours of learning and smithing work to make the simple steel samurai swords. I've always admired the way that samurai swords were made, so I made myself a pair.

Anyway, in my family, your swordsmanship was what set you out from the rest of the riff raff of criminals. "Any idiot could aim and pull a trigger," is what my dad used to say. "You're not a real part of the family until you've blocked your first bullet," was what my mom would say in return.

Justin's blades were thick so they had enough surface area to block the bullets, but still were light enough to run with without any extra problems. The hilt was standard, but what really set him out as a fighter, were his eyes.

Being 2036, mechanical implants were all the rage. My family didn't pass up a chance to make their son more of a super soldier than he already was, and got his eyes and brain upgraded so that he could process information faster and block bullets with more efficiency. I, of course, got no upgrade and have yet to block a single bullet with a pair of swords. If I ever meet the guy who came up with these rules, I want to punch them in the face.

Justin, finishing up his flashy introduction, completely withdrew the swords from their sheaths. The reaction from the two girls did not change, but a smile crept on Justin's face.

"I resist arrest. I dare you to-" his blade met with a bullet, sending it ricocheting to a building on the street opposite of mine. "-try to take me in."

The first woman's whip was set ablaze, and the second woman placed her pistol back into it's holster, and took her rapier from its sheath. The girl with the whip flicked it once more, sending embers to the ground to form ash.

"Gladly," she replied. The rapier user spent no time messing around and ran straight towards him. At first, I though she stood no chance, but as she started to counter both blades with ease, Justin's eyebrow raised. While fighting, he looked up to his opponent's eyes.

"Maybe you're not as reckless as you seem," with that, one of his swords was forcefully batted away and sent clattering to the side. The woman back off and took a leap into the air, a pair of beautiful, jet black wings spread open. Apparently, as entranced as I was, Justin allowed his other blade to be taken from his grasp by the whip the grounded woman held. The situation seemed to be stuck for a few seconds before a loud bang sound was made, a lot of dust and dirt kicking up and blocking my view.

I thought Justin was done for, that he'd finally been bested at something, but I should've known it'd be too good to be true. Suddenly, all the dust and dirt was cleared by a powerful gust of wind. When the street was clear again, I saw the flying woman down on the floor next to her companion, whose whip now looked as if it were rippling. They seemed to be searching for what was right behind them. I knew nothing about these women, or if they'd let me off the hook if I said this, but I screamed it anyway.

"Behind you!" The women with the whip reacted first, turning quickly and trying to escape the blade at the same time, but failing as it ripped through part of her back, as it was designed to. I'd say she wasn't getting back up.

"Damn you!" exclaimed the other officer. She'd extended her arm to his head, but he grabbed her forearm, yanked her closer and smashed his head into hers, sending her stumbling back a few feet. He then kicked her feet, sending her falling to the floor, her gun skidding a few feet away. Justin shook his head.

"I thought you'd be more entertaining than this." my gaze was stuck on the woman beneath him now. "It's been a fun game, I assure you, but it's time for it to end."

"Justin!" I yelled without thinking. Under his eyes, it took all the willpower I had to keep my voice from shaking. "Stop hurting these people!" At first, he didn't budge, but then ,he sheathed his swords and looked towards me.

"And why should I do that?" his eyes bore into me, searching for an answer.

"Because neither of them are your targets." One of his eyebrows were raised. "A professional shouldn't kill unnecessarily." I'd apparently talked some sense into him, for he turned away and took his hand off of the hilt of his blade.

"I'll tell dad that you've successfully evaded me." his voice full of pride. "But I'll probably be coming back for you later, so don't get too cocky." he started to walk off, eventually leaving my sight without another word.

I was shocked. He just left. I'd just talked to him about being a good assassin, but he left his objective and even showed mercy. I don't know what he was thinking, but I did know that he meant what he said. He was going to come for me soon, and I'd better be prepared.

The more important matter rose to my mind. There was a woman on the ground who could die if she didn't get medical attention. I looked over at her partner, who saw the danger as well and rushed over.

"We need to get her to a hospital, or call a paramedic!" she yelled. Her gaze shifted on me. "Do you have a phone!?"

"N-no, but I'll go get help," I said, my voice shaking.

"That won't be necessary," someone spoke, but none of us. A person emerged from one of the dark alleys that lined this street. "I can help her."

The only feature I could see was her long, auburn hair, and pale, almost ghostly white hands. I didn't want to trust her, but she claimed she could help someone we weren't guaranteed to be able to heal ourselves.

"Who are you?" was the first question that arose in the mind of the rapier wielder. A good thing to know, had it been answered. She just strode over to the fallen body, and hovered her hand over the wound.

_"God's Hand: Restoration." _ The body was surrounded by a faint golden glow. The wound stopped bleeding and the cut flesh seemed to bind itself together, almost causing me to lose my non-existent lunch.

The fallen girl sat up pretty quickly, looked around with crazy eyes. She finally stopped on her partner, her eyes plastered with confusion.

"What happened? Where is he?"

"Calm down, will you?" she said with hidden happiness in her voice. "You were injured pretty bad but this person helped you." She looked up to see that the person in question was no longer there. I questioned how she slipped away without making a hint of a sound but I let it pass me anyway. Next, the woman who'd been injured turned to me.

"We're going to have to take you into custody, alright?" That caught me off guard.

"Why? I did get Justin off your backs, so I think I deserve a little leeway."

"Sorry kid, but that's not how the law works," she said as she picked her friend up. "You resisted arrest, plain and simple."

"Don't get us wrong," said the fallen woman. "We're grateful for your actions, but they don't condone the fact that you ran from our inspection."

"Ah, I see," I said extended my hands out. "Okay. But before you take me to jail, can you tell me your names?" The one with the clipboard from earlier took a pair of glasses out of her pocket, and the woman wearing a scarf straightened it out.

"My name's Rose. Rose Thorn," she introduced herself with a slight bow. "And this is my, for lack of a better word, gloomy assistant, Cosmic Swift." I retracted my hands and took a bow myself.

"Dante Caesar, 14 year old not-so prodigy."" I stood up straight and extended my hands again. "I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be for prison."

"Prison?" asked Rose. "No no, we'll be taking you back to headquarters."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea, Rose?" Cosmic asked confusedly. My confusion was akin to hers.

"Why, exactly, are you taking me back to headquarters?" I had my own theory that they'd subject me to unspeakable torture, leading a chill down my spine.

"Oh come on. You're a part of the Caesar family. I know someone who will be ecstatic to meet you." Cosmic's gaze told me that this person wasn't as ecstatic as I'd thought she was. Rose noticed our gazes and apparently thought nothing of them, as she led the way to the headquarters humming a lighthearted tune.

"Just… roll with it. She's weird at times," said Cosmic, following behind me. "Don't put us through any more trouble than you have already." I shrugged and moved on, not too eager to reach our destination.

After about 15 minutes of walking, we walked into a large, building, easily able to stick out among the others. The lobby was almost vacant, only occupied by a man at the desk playing with his pencils. After seeing us enter, his eyes fell upon me.

"Who's the kid?" said the man, putting down his pencils. "New recruit?"

"More like special guest," said Cosmic. "He's here to see Velvet."

"Ah. Guess he is special," he said pointing to the elevators. "She's downstairs practicing."

"Thanks." they ushered me to the elevators. After pressing the button to the basement and the doors closing, Cosmic sighed. "Great. She's already in murder mode."

"Um, couple of questions," I said to her as the elevator descended. " Who is Velvet, and why is she in 'murder mode'?" At this point, even Rose looked a bit worried.

"Velvet Blaze is the leader and founder of the DAOC at age 19. That was 3 years ago. Ever since then, she's been basically obsessed with taking down every single large crime organization known to us," Cosmic took another sigh. "And as for murder mode… I don't want to say but you'll see."

The elevator door opened to a very large arena. So large, in fact, that it seemed as if two elephants could thrash around in it. In front of us was a railing looking down on the arena, a set of stairs heading down in two directions. As we approached the railing, I saw two women about 10 meters from each other. One had blondish and light orange colored skin. He clothes were tattered and she was breathing heavily. The other looked completely composed. She had vibrant red hair, light red skin, and her clothes completely intact.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, the one sporting red looked up in our direction. She said something to the other and started to approach. As she reached the top of the stairs, I could see her eyes were also red, confirming my suspicions that this was Velvet Blaze.

"What is it?" her eyes fell upon me, that alone making a chill vibrate down my back. "Who is this child?"

"This is… Dante. Dante… Caesar," said Rose slowly. "We found him by the buses-"

"You," her gaze made me turn away. "Are you truly a Caesar?"

"Against my better judgement, yes… I am." I looked up to meet her gaze. "Son of Clyde Caesar, brother of Justin Caesar."

"Good to know," she said walking back down to the arena. "Follow me."

"My better judgement sure is getting the cold shoulder today…" I said, slowly following after her. At the bottom of the stairs, the one who'd apparently been "practicing" with her glanced in our direction from her sitting position. Then Velvet turned towards me.

"Fight her," she said, finger extended to the girl on the ground. If you can beat her, I won't kill you." At that, a horrendous chill went down my spine.

"And I'm sure to lose, right?" I said looking at the other girl. She looked rugged and tired. Her eyes were a blondish color and just as intimidating as Velvet's.

"Depends. Are you good?" I didn't know how to respond or even if I should. At that time, my biggest thought was how I got myself into the mess I did. All I wanted was a vacation.

"I guess," I responded. "But I'm sure that 'I guess' isn't going to cut it here." The girl rose from her spot and stretched.

"Get ready. I'll call from up there," she said pointing to Rose and Cosmic. "I expect a good performance." Without another word, she walked up the stairs and waited at the top.

The girl got into position and I unsheathed my blades. When she didn't reveal a weapon of her own, I got skeptical, but as the match started, I saw why she needed no such thing.

"The fight begins now!" called Velvet from the top of the arena. Instantly, I recognized that I'd walked into the wrong neighbourhood. She put her hands up to the sky and said a few words under her breath. Suddenly, clones of herself, all exactly like, came flowing out of her body. In a few seconds, I was completely surrounded by said clones.

"Well this is unfair," I said looking around the circle of people surrounding me. " I'm going to need to even out the playing field."

They all rushed to the center of their circle, aiming to take me out at different angles. I slashed at a few and saw them become small circles of light, the others absorbing them as they closed in. The fewer the clones, the higher their dispatch difficulty was. A clever strategy, but ultimately useless if the person you're fighting is adaptable.

After slicing the last one to a few balls of light, they all reconfigured themselves into the body it was before. The girl looked no different from the first time we fought, telling me what I did was just to waste some energy. In my strategizing, she put one hand up again and uttered a few words, no doubt to start a spell. A few seconds later, a long staff appeared in her hand. She grabbed it with her left hand and got into a stance.

Now that she was armed, I had no need to hold back. I ran forward, swords crossed in front of me just in case she thought to attack. As I closed in, I saw her disappear into smoke, out of sight. I stopped, contemplating what this might be, before getting struck swiftly in the back of the neck. As I turned to attack, the staff pushed itself into my gut, forcing me backwards and making me drop my swords.

"Unfair times 2…" I said to myself, trying to find out where the next hit would come from. Out of sheer luck, I heard the whistle of the wind as the staff moved through the air. "Okay, time to turn the tables. I grabbed the staff and yanked it from her hand, jutting it back in her direction.

The resistance I felt and the breaking of her concentration causing her to break her spell guaranteed I'd hit something. She stumbled back, clutching her shoulder in pain. I threw her back her staff.

"Sorry," I said, not knowing what else to do. I picked up my swords and got back into my stance. "Back to the fight." In response, she picked up her staff and smiled.

"It looks like this is going to get interesting."


End file.
